Startup company Lordstown Motors has finally lifted the veil over its long-anticipated truck, Endurance. Let’s delve into details.
The company known as Workhorse originally displayed the conceptual version of the truck at a motor show three years ago. Lordstown Motors inherited the project from Workhorse and collaborated with Hydra Design Labs to give it a memorable design.
The pickup takes advantage of a frame and has a rather typical chassis layout: dual-wishbone, coil-spring suspension at the front end and solid-axle, leaf-spring suspension at the rear.
The single most interesting feature of the project comes in the form of the four motorized wheels that propel the car forward. Co-developed with Elaphe, these can deliver up to 600 horsepower (447 kilowatts) to the ground and can exert up to 6,000 Nm (4,425 feet-pounds) of cumulative torque.
The Lordstown Endurance draws its power from a 70-kWh traction battery located between the side-members under the cab. The company claims it is enough for 400 kilometers (248 miles) of uninterrupted driving.
The truck needs 5.5 seconds to sprint 0-60 mph (0-97 km/h) and maxes out at 128 km/h (80 miles per hour). Hauling capacity remains unclear with the official website contradicting itself quoting it as 6,000 lbs (2.7 metric tons) in one place and 7,500 lbs (3.4 metric tons) in another. The cabin has not been shown yet, either, except for a few early concept sketches.
The pickup truck will hit the showrooms priced starting at U.S. $52,500 without subsidies. To put things into perspective, the Tesla Cybertruck should arrive priced at $39,900 and above that, offer over 400 km (248 miles) of range in its entry-level single-motor spec, be able to haul 7,500 lbs (3.4 metric tons) in a trailer, and hit 177 km/h (110 mph) in a straight line.
Sales of the Lordstown Endurance should launch early next years, and the company hopes to sell around 20,000 units in 2021. Lordstown Motors claims that it has already received 14,000 pre-orders for the car, which sounds dubious since it never announced taking pre-orders or advance payments in the first place.
The Cybertruck should arrive a few months after its rival.